The Falling Star
Far in a void called The Silence, a creature floated in place, hurling objects out into the atmosphere. This creature is named the Celestial Arbiter. Asteroids, planets, and even entire stars filled in the vacant space outside the massive void. Though he always released celestial bodies, every hundred thousand years, an asteroid containing different forms of energy was released.
One day, an asteroid, one with a particularity malicious energy, flew at high speeds toward the Earth. This one had some specific targets.
In Northpine Ridge, a teenage boy watched the world around him intently from his window. The boy was named Xavier Cole, and like most people in the world, he was nothing special.
The young man sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. His hair was matted down from sleep, and his eyes were struggling to remain agape. He yawned loudly. “Shit, it's Monday.” He glanced over at a small clock on his drawer, then back out the window. ‘It’s almost time to get ready,’ he thought to himself, struggling to remove the blanket from his tired body. He crawled out of his warm bed, feeling anything but ready to start the day.
He headed to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face as his favorite playlist played in the background. As Xavier freshened himself up, his mom cooked breakfast in the kitchen.
Smelling the savory scent, Xavier rushed straight into the kitchen, barely wiping the toothpaste from his face. Xavier’s mom, Denice, fixed Xavier a plate of eggs and pancakes, then he flew to the dinner table and sat down for an amazing meal. As he ate, he barely spotted an odd greenish-red glow zooming through the skies.
“Something ‘bout today… It’s just not right,” he muttered, his mouth full of food.
“Whatever you say, boy,” his mom replied, placing the dirty pans and utensils into the sink.
He finished eating quickly, threw on a hoodie, and laced his shoes.
“See you later, son,” his dad Jermaine said, kissing his forehead. Xavier left, wiping off the kiss with an awkward smile and side-eyeing the flying light in the sky.
When he arrived at the bus stop, he spotted a familiar face. The kid ran over to Xavier, throwing his arm around his neck and giving him a noogie.
“Whats up man!” yelled his friend since kindergarten, Davion Robinson. Xavier gripped onto Davion’s hair, yanking him off of his own head and booting him right back.
“Long time, no see, dude!” Xavier lamented. “We haven’t spoken since June.”
“I was outta town. You should’ve been there, I went to Florida, and—“
Xavier stopped him, rolling his eyes in brokeness. “Watch the rich talk around me, spoiled,” Xavier joked.
As the two friends laughed, the bus finally arrived, canceling their talk and filling the stop with more kids. They hopped onto the bus, climbing into a seat beside each other. While they spoke, some kids behind them were talking about a news broadcast showcasing a asteroid heading into the Midwest of the United States. Xavier listened in, remembering the light he saw heading in that same direction. As he wondered silently, the bus continued down the road and he and his friend kept talking about comics, TV shows, football, and other nerdy things.
The bus arrived at the high school—Lincoln Heights High School—and the two boys hopped off walking through the halls to their study hall room together.
They arrived outside a classroom that was already live with sound. The two waited outside the classroom for a moment until the target finally arrived.
“What a surprise,” a girl blurted, strutting over to the door. She slumped onto a locker, shocking Xavier awake.
“What's up, Xavi! Summer’s over, but that just means it’s football time!” Nicole cheered. Davion and Nicole bumped fists, and Xavier and Nicole did their signature handshake.
Nicole Daniels, captain of the cheer team and Xavier and Davion’s friend since middle school, popped off the locker and enthusiastically began singing their school’s fight song. As she performed, the lights flickered—just barely noticeable.
“Alright Nicole, that’s the spirit,” Davion cheered, grabbing her hands and jumping in circles with her. The two bonded over their shared love for sports—specifically football. Xavier was always the odd one out with Davion and Nicole, mostly due to his lack of NFL knowledge compared to soccer. With the football season officially starting, he was nearly left behind as all their teachers and classmates yapped about the sport. Alongside the excitement, they were on guard and hoping to make it to the playoffs again this year.
“Well, whatever happens, I wish you luck. I’ll be sure to make it to every game!” Xavier pulled out his laptop, reluctantly logging in as the room’s lights dimmed. When he pressed enter, a voltage was sent through the laptop’s keys and into his finger. “Ow, shit!” Xavier hollered in pain, flinching away from the device. “What the hell was that,” Nicole questioned blankly as the classroom strobed with light.
“We just got here and everything’s already breaking,” Davion scoffed, attempting to get back into a working mood. Xavier and Nicole followed suit, unlocking their devices and beginning their first day of sophomore year. While Xavier and his friends focused on school, the government scrambled to stop a disaster.
In the deep south of the United States in the Chihuahuan Desert, a military base—the U.S. Experimental Tech Facility—stood filled with soldiers preparing for the worst. All over the base, soldiers were scrambling to find their weaponry as the asteroid hurdled down toward the big city. “Men, calm yourselves! We need those experimental Gamma Obliterators,” the sergeant trembled, frantically looking for a scientist to give some good news.
“Where the hell is that laser gun, dammit!” he repeated, running toward the laboratory sector west of the base. He crashed through the door, attempting to find a certain doctor.
"Damn it, this would be a whole lot easier if those food soldiers were finished… How’s the progress on the gamma-ray?" he questioned, tapping his foot rapidly. “Sir, the Gamma Obliterator is only 44.3% complete,” she sadly admitted, staring at a locked door sealed behind the monitors. “But I can work on finding a better solution to your problem.” Dr. Amelia Sinclair walked over to one of her many computers, trying to get some answers. As the sergeant stammered, a private rushed in with bad news for him.
“Sarge! We’ve gotta bring the obliterator to Illinois. The scientists there could finish it in only a little over an hour!” Dirk Thomas had a spark of hope. “We need to get to the Gamma Research Facility in the Nachusa Grasslands,” said the sergeant, already calling up the facility head to alert them of his visit. Sergeant Thomas found an airman, then the two made their way to a research facility to fight off the asteroid once and for all.
In school, Davion and Xavier started their second-period Chemistry class, while Nicole went to her PE class.
“Welcome everyone to your first day of the best class in high school!” said Mr. Tello, an older gentleman with a cane wearing a deep red plaid button-up and black jeans.
“Today you’ll be learning about the elements, so strap in!” he exclaimed, throwing on a pair of goggles. Xavier rolled his eyes, leaning back into his chair. “Well, this class is already trash,” Davion muttered as he followed suit. “Strap in kiddos, you’ll surely like this class a bunch!”
As they suffered through their chemistry class, Nicole was enjoying her first day of Physical Education.
“Alright class, just run fifteen laps, down and back. Ready… go!” Mr. Trevor said, running alongside the students. Mr. Trevor was a taller man, had a lean muscular build, and a clean shaven head with no facial hair besides a scruffy goatee.
“If I see anyone slacking behind, we start over.” Nicole rushed to the front of the pack alongside two of her cheerleading friends, Becca and Tom. Becca was a short white girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. She had on a gym shorts with there schools red PE shirt on top. Tom was a tall mexican with curly brown hair and an eyebrow piercing. He always wore joggers, a Nike hoodie, and a gold chain to school, but he still had the PE shirt underneath.
“Okay girl, trying to be a leader I see. Isn’t cheer captain enough?” Becca asked jokingly.
“Yeah, yeah. I guess, but I can't pass being better than y’all!” Nicole acknowledged with a cocky chuckle. The three of them began to sprint for their final rep, slamming into the mat on the wall at the opposite end of the court. As they hit the wall simultaneously, they all chuckled, ready for what their teacher had in store. “Nice job—Nicole Daniels, Rebecca Anderson, and Tomas Donnell are getting their extra credit!”
The three let out an audible “Yes!”, but the intercom cut them off.
“Ahem… excuse me, everyone. This is your principal, Dr. Colleen Washington speaking. We have a last-minute field trip planned, so when you leave your second-period class, make your way to the front of the school and sit on your designated bus assigned by your second-period teacher’s last name.”
Davion and Xavier stared at each other, eyes gleaming with excitement. “Bet!” they said in unison, long enough the rest of the class to chuckle and for Mr. Tello to raise an eyebrow. Davion fist-bumped Xavier. “Bro, a field trip on day one?” “They must not want us to learn,” Xavier joked, as the teacher looked on in shock and confusion. “Alright children, settle down! You can scream about the field trip when it starts. For now, it's chem time!” The teacher continued the class. ‘Field trip…’ Davion thought.
After 75 minutes of torture, class finally ended, and Davion, Xavier, and Nicole made their way to their buses. “If your teacher's last name is A-C, get in bus A, D-F in bus B, G-I in bus C, J-L in bus D, M-O in bus E, P-R in bus F, S-U in bus G, V-X in bus H, and Y-Z in bus I.”
“Thank god for T’s,” Xavier joked as the three friends met back up in their school’s common area.
"Funny how the three of us always end up together. Like we're supposed to or something,” Davion wondered as the three headed toward the bus. They arrived at bus G, taking a seat near the back next to Tom and Becca. “Yoo, Tom what's up!” Davion exclaimed. “Ready for football season?”
“Don’t you know it,” Tom replied, pumping his fist in the air.
“You three gotta cheer your asses off,” said Davion, pumping his arms alongside the others.
“Of course! Don’t worry, we all know I’ll steal the show out there, right, Tom?” replied Nicole, smiling mischievously. “Sure, Nicole. If you don't bust your ass first!” laughed Xavier, dapping up Davion and laughing alongside him. The bus began to pull away from the school as the group continued to talk animatedly. Hours later, the bus stopped outside a large building. The students stepped off the bus one by one. Davion made his way off, but when he stepped onto the asphalt—
ZAP.
“Ow, shit! What was that?” asked a stunned Davion.
Xavier and Nicole raised an eyebrow, but Davion shook it off.
“Woah, Soldier Field!” Xavier cheered, changing the subject.
“It’s Soldier Field indeed, loud child!” the principal said, ushering the kids onto the sidewalk as the bus pulled away.
“We’re here for a hearing directly from the president of the United States!” she announced, standing up in front of the bus. The students hopped out of the buses as the private viewing readied itself to begin.
The president, Eleanor Hastings, had been in office for under a year, yet had changed not only the United States, but almost the entire continent of North America. She was now within Soldier Field, prepared to start a speech about how those kids could be the “future of America”.
As the president was prepared to begin her speech, the Gamma Obliterator was being prepped for use in Illinois. Sergeant Thomas arrived at the base in the Nachusa Grasslands after a 40 or so minute flight. After wheeling the machine into their lab, the scientists of the Gamma Research Facility had done their thing, bringing the weapon up to 100% in a little over two hours. Their secretary of defense, Richard Harmon, stepped in to examine the weapon. “Cleared for use. Hand me the presidential line.” The secretary radioed Eleanor as she prepared her speech. After noticing the buzz of her walkie talkie, a secret service agent deactivated the mic sitting atop her podium as she gave the command, “Fire the Gamma Obliterator, men. May God have mercy on our souls in case of failure.”
“Yes ma’am,” said Eric, handing the device to a nearby chief. “Alright men, ready the weapon!”
A scientist raised a remote to the top of the Gamma Obliterator, controlling the machine with a joystick-looking button and aiming it in the path of the asteroid. A lever was flicked, and three buttons each glowing a brighter shade of red were pressed. Finally, after one more flick a of a smaller, safety switch, the beam shot forward at near-light speed toward the asteroid.
“Hold your breath, men!” yelled Harmon as it neared closer to the massive space rock. The beam was moments away from collision until—
POOF.
A large amount of clouds were vaporized, revealing a deep-red sword that appeared to fly down from the heavens. Before the beam could hit, the sword pierced it, completely dispersing it.
“What the hell was that?!” exclaimed the secretary of defense, gritting his teeth.
“What are you waiting for, scientists? Fire the damn thing again!” They stopped him, flicking the levers and pressing the buttons once more. “We don't have enough energy to fire it again,” a female scientist admitted, lowering her head. The secretary grabbed the airman still there with Sergeant Thomas and dragged him to the garage area. “These jets are manned with enough artillery to destroy a city! Chase that rock, kid!” He sent the airman to fly off into the distance. As he chased after the asteroid, the airman, Dennis Bobert, realized where it was landing based on its trajectory.
“No. There’s no damn way. Soldier Field…”
